Nitrogen, oxidation numbers

Dinitrogen monoxide, N2O (nitrogen oxidation number +1), is a non-toxic, odourless and tasteless gas it is a linear molecule with an unsymmetrical N—N—O linkage. N2O is made by careful thermal decomposition of ammonium nitrate at 250 °C ... 

Nitrogen monoxide, NO (nitrogen oxidation number -i-2), is one of the most reactive of the nitrogen oxides. It is an odd-electron molecule and is therefore paramagnetic it has a bond order of 2. ... 

Dinitrogen trioxide, N2O3 (nitrogen oxidation number +3), can be isolated only at low temperatures (r j -101 °C) as a blue solid and deep blue liquid, when stoichiometric amounts of NO and NO2 are combined. The molecule is planar (Structure 11.5 in Table 11.2). As the temperature is raised, the liquid becomes greenish as it disproportionates to NO and the brown NO2 ... 

Nitrogen dioxide, NO2 (nitrogen oxidation number +4), is an odd-electron molecule (Structure 11.6 in Table 11.2) and is therefore paramagnetic. The non-bonded electron resides mainly on the nitrogen, which enables two molecules to interact to form an N—N bond. Thus, when NO2 is cooled to form a liquid, it forms the dimeric N2O4 (Structure 11.7 in Table 11.2). 

Dinitrogen pentoxide, N2O5 (nitrogen oxidation number +5), is the true anhydride of nitric acid it can be made by dehydrating concentrated nitric acid with P4O10 (Section 11.3.4) at low temperature ... 

Again, nitric acid readily dissolves lead but is unable to oxidise lead beyond the oxidation state -P 2. The reduction products of the nitric acid vary with the concentration of acid used, and a number of nitrogen oxides are usually obtained. Warm dilute nitric acid gives mainly nitrogen oxide, NO. 

Paramagnetism implies the presence of single, unpaired, electrons. Hence nitrogen oxide is paramagnetic and so is any other molecule or ion containing unpaired electrons. If the total number of electrons in an ion or molecule is odd. then it must be paramagnetic but some molecules (e.g. Oj and ions have an even number of electrons and yet are paramagnetic because some of them are unpaired. 

The most widespread and persistent urban pollution problem is ozone. The causes of this and the lesser problem of CO and PMjq pollution in our urban areas are largely due to the diversity and number of urban air pollution sources. One component of urban smog, hydrocarbons, comes from automobile emissions, petroleum refineries, chemical plants, dry cleaners, gasoline stations, house painting, and printing shops. Another key component, nitrogen oxides, comes from the combustion of fuel for transportation, utilities, and industries. 

Raw material input to petroleum refineries is primarily crude oil however, petroleum refineries use and generate an enormous number of chemicals, many of which leave the facilities as discharges of air emissions, wastewater, or solid waste. Pollutants generated typically include VOCs, carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur oxides (SOJ, nitrogen oxides (NOJ, particulates, ammonia (NH3), hydrogen sulfide (HjS) metals, spent acids, and numerous toxic organic compounds. 

Nitrogen oxides A number of different compounds of nitrogen and oxygen, normally referred to as NO. . 

Gmelin Handbook of Inorganic Chemistry, 8 ed., Sulfur-Nitrogen Compounds, Part 2 Compounds with Sulfur of Oxidation Number IV, Springer-Verlag, Berlin (1985). 

Nitrogen cannot have an oxidation number lower than —3, which means that when NH3 takes part in a redox reaction, it always acts as a reducing agent. Ammonia may be oxidized to elementary nitrogen or to a compound of nitrogen. An important redox reaction of ammonia is that with hypochlorite ion ... 

Show that the oxidation number of nitrogen is + 5 in each of the two species N03 and N2Ot. 

Self-Test K.2B Find the oxidation numbers of sulfur, nitrogen, and chlorine in (a) SO,2 (b) NOz (c) HCIO,. 

The important compounds of nitrogen with hydrogen are ammonia, Irydrazine, and hydrazoic acid, the parent of the shock-sensitive azides. Phosphine forms neutral solutions in water reaction of phosphorous halides with water produces oxoacids without change in oxidation number. 

Nitrogen forms several oxides, with oxidation numbers ranging from - -l to +5. All nitrogen oxides are acidic oxides and some are the acid anhydrides of the nitrogen oxoacids (Table 15.2). In atmospheric chemistry, where the oxides play an important two-edged role in both maintaining and polluting the atmosphere, the) are referred to collectively as NO (read nox ). 

Nitrogen oxide (or nitrogen monoxide), NO (oxidation number +2), is commonly called nitric oxide. It is a colorless gas prepared industrially by the catalytic oxidation of ammonia ... 

Nitrogen dioxide, N02 (oxidation number -t-4), is a choking, poisonous, brown gas that contributes to the color and odor of smog. The molecule has an odd number of electrons, and in the gas phase it exists in equilibrium with its colorless dimer N204. Only the dimer exists in the solid, and so the brown gas condenses to a colorless solid. When it dissolves in water, NOz disproportionates into nitric acid (oxidation number +5) and nitrogen oxide (oxidation number +2) ... 

The blue gas dinitrogen trioxide, N203 (Fig. 15.6, 1), in which the oxidation number of nitrogen is +3, is the anhydride of nitrous acid, HN02, and forms that acid when it dissolves in water ... 

Step 1 Oxidation of ammonia nitrogen s oxidation number increases from —3 to +2 ... 

Step 3 Disproportionation in water nitrogen s oxidation number changes from +4 to +5 and +2 ... 

Nitrogen forms oxides in each of its integer oxidation states front +1 to +5 the properties of the oxides and oxoacids are related to the oxidation number of nitrogen in the compound. 

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